


Fighting Robots

by TheSopherfly



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Battle, Explosions, M/M, Nicknames, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Robots, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25025704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSopherfly/pseuds/TheSopherfly
Summary: On the battlefield, Bucky is overwhelmed. (So many robots.) Enter Tony, who helps blow them all up.~A quick fic for the Tony Stark Bingo.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	Fighting Robots

**Author's Note:**

> A quick fic for the Tony Stark Bingo! :)
> 
> **Card Number:** 3117  
>  **Participant:** sopherfly  
>  **Title:** Fighting Robots  
>  **Square Filled:** T4 - A Battle/Fight/Confrontation  
>  **Ship:** Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes (pre-relationship)  
>  **Rating:** T  
>  **Warnings/Major Tags:** none  
>  **Summary:** On the battlefield, Bucky is overwhelmed. (So many robots.) Enter Tony, who helps blow them all up.

Bucky felt the stinging bite of pain, the air knocked out of him as his back met the unforgiving rock. Damn it. These robots were everywhere. Every time he took one down, three more appeared in his periphery. Super soldier reflexes weren’t enough for this. He needed to take cover. Only problem was, there wasn’t anyplace to-

_Wham!_ Another robot slammed into him from behind, pushing him closer to the precarious edge of their makeshift battlefield. Because fighting on stony cliffs had been such a good idea in the first place.

Bucky whirled around and knocked the robot to the ground, kicking its legs out from under it. He couldn’t go on like this. There were too many of them, and they were too big. “This is Barnes,” he said into the comms, dodging a line of bullets from an armed robot a few yards away, then using a fallen robot as a shield. Shit. That might work for blocking fire from a bot, but not a mech. He saw the enormous machine land, then lumber toward him, clumsy but fast as hell. “I need-

“Hey, Optimus Prime.” Suddenly Iron Man was in Bucky’s ear and in the line of fire. “Pick on someone your own size.”

Iron Man’s repulsor shot the mech point blank, pushing it backward. It left Bucky open to deal with the onslaught behind him, and he turned, taking out another robot with a knife to the metal head.

“You got bombs in that suit of yours?” Bucky asked over another rain of bullets. 

“It’s like you don’t even know me.” 

Bucky rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop the smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth. Tony’s banter was infuriating and endearing all at once.

More robots clambering up from below. Who knew how many more mechs there were. “Think it might be time to use one,” Bucky barked.

“Alright. Get clear and cover your ears. This is going to be loud.”

_Boom!_

The ground shuddered beneath him as the bomb detonated. Debris rained down. His ears rang, a high pitched noise that made him squeeze his eyes shut. Pieces of falling metal clanked and clacked against the Iron Man armor as it approached him. He couldn’t hear the words, but the “let’s get out of here” gesture was easy enough to understand.

They’d practiced this before. The spider monkey, Tony called it. More like the world’s most ridiculous piggy-back ride. 

They landed less than smoothly in a grassy clearing. Tony stumbled forward, barely finding his footing, and Bucky was flung off of Tony’s back, rolling through a somersault and landing mostly on his chin. Bucky shook his head to clear it, then turned to look up just as the Iron Man armor dissolved and disappeared. Tony held out a hand. Bucky took it, hauling himself to his feet.

“You alright?” Bucky asked. 

Tony nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Thought we were done with copycats.”

“Highest form of flattery.” They weren't quite Iron Man replicas, but they were close.

Tony barked a laugh, shaking his head. He looked good like this, hair in his face, cheeks still red with exertion, eyes bright. Bucky breathed in tightly. It was getting harder to ignore just how much he _liked_ about Tony. The desire to get closer, to touch, to express every terrifying feeling he had - he wasn’t sure how much longer he could fight the impulse.

“Okay, Captain Cold.” Tony crossed his arms. “You can’t make a face like that and not say anything.”

“I…” Bucky swallowed. This wasn’t the time. They were battered and bruised, and there might still be more fight for them once their ears stopped ringing. Besides, Tony had no idea. To spring that on him, to surprise him with - what the hell was it? Affection? Interest? Desire? He might scare Tony away.

“Thank you,” Bucky said finally, masking his emotions with a grateful smile. “For watchin’ my six.”

Tony didn’t look entirely satisfied, but he nodded, his lips curving up. “Anytime.”

~


End file.
